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Crooked River Ranch man arrested for dog poisonings

A Crooked River Ranch man has been arrested in connection with several dog poisonings. According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's office, on April 12, at 7:35 a.m., deputies arrested Alan Roy Whitacre, 68 of Crooked River Ranch, on two counts of first-degree aggravated animal abuse, for the poisoning and attempted poisoning of dogs in his neighborhood. Undersheriff Jim Adkins said a neighbor who suspected someone was trying to poison his dogs had set up hidden video cameras. On the video tape, Adkins said, "A guy walked over to the property and threw some stuff in his yard. We were not 100 percent sure what it was, so we issued a search warrant." Whitacre's residence was searched on April 11. "We went in and did a search and during that time he confessed to trying to poison the dogs because he didn't like the dogs barking," Adkins said. "One dog had some blisters in his mouth, but we're not sure if it was poison," he added. He said another cat and dog a quarter of a mile away were suspected to have been poisoned. "But there is no proof, because no autopsy was done," Adkins said. The arrest comes after several months of investigation of by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the Redmond Humane Society of numerous pet shootings at the Ranch. "We do not believe Whitacre is involved in the shooting deaths of other animals at Crooked River Ranch and the investigation is continuing," Adkins said.